Song Interpretation

[Nique]

I was listening to Tokyo Girl by Ace of Base and suddenly realized that this seemingly incredible racist idealization of Japanese girls (but with such a great beat) actually made a lot more sense as a critique of this fetishizing.

I'll break it down.

Tokyo girl, Tokyo girl
You've got the moves to rule the world
That cute inscru-tability
Tokyo girl, you're a mystery

Tokyo girl, Tokyo girl
Shaking up hearts around the world
You can't forget that stunning face
Smiling at you it's your destiny

So, immediately the lyrics jump right into really obvious stereotypes. This is just a clue though.

She's got the face sweet as a baby
Elegant taste and money to burn
Her "yes" is "no", "no" is a "maybe"
Her language is so hard to learn

Tokyo girl, Tokyo girl
You've got the moves to rule the world
That cute inscru-tability
Tokyo girl, you're a mystery

Now we're getting to the point where it seems like the song may be troublingly sincere. The bridge, however, clears it up.

In Tokyo

Though there's a fire burns inside here
Outside is ivory, silk and ice
Nothing she wants is denied her
You'd better take my advice

Many has tried to get near her
Deep in the heart of Tokyo
Found nothing there but a mirror
She's no one you'll ever know

So, the literal attempt to find this idealized 'Asian princess' figure results in the realization that 1) she's not someone that can be known, and 2) the search results in finding a 'mirror', which is what I believe reflects the ridiculous attitude of the seeker, exoticizing the 'tokyo girl'.

So, maybe he finds or is at least searching for a real girl, but it doesn't matter because the girl he is actually seeking doesn't exist.